QUILTS & FABRIC: PAST & PRESENT

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Log Cabin- How Old is the Name?

Log Cabin, set in a variation of the barn raising, late 19th century.

All quilts from Laura Fisher.

Scrappy Bee had a question in January: I think many people made log cabin quilts, partly because the are easy to do and you can play with colors and settings. Was the block called Log Cabin from the start?

Detail of the quilt above, a remarkably simple block in a complex set.

The floral prints are delaine (wool-cotton combination fabrics).

It's hard to know what 19th century people named their quilts. So few written records mention a quilt by name. Fair records, for example, listed numerous prize winners with generic names like "silk quilt", "patch-work quilt cover," and "cradle quilts." But we are lucky here because we do see fair records mentioning the "log quilt" pattern, also called "log cabin". The pattern was so popular in the 1870-1900 period that fairs opened categories specifically for log cabin quilts.

Cotton Log Cabin in Courthouse Steps set on point, about 1875

Virginia Gunn found that Log Cabins received a commendation by name at the Ohio State Fair in 1863 (the pattern seems to have developed about that time) and again in 1868. In June of 1866, an Iowa diarist known only as "Abbie" wrote that she "went to town, bought Delaine [wool blend] for my log cabin." On the last day of July she "wrote a letter to Sis and worked on my log cabin."

Straight Furrow set, about 1900

Log Cabin seems to be the standard name, but the 1889 Ladies' Art Company pattern catalog called it the "Log Patch". The British authors of an 1882 needlework manual noted that the design and technique were "well known in Canada under the name 'Loghouse Quilting' but only lately introduced in England.…This patchwork is more commonly known as 'Canadian patchwork'." English names also include "Egyptian" or "Mummy Pattern", referring to mummy wrappings of dark and light strips in a similar design.

Display of Egyptian cat mummies at the British Museum.

Is that cat on the left wrapped in a log cabin design or what!

Unusual set

Courthouse Steps Set

So in answer to your question: We can assume quilters called the block log cabin. The names of the set variations are the standards we use today but their sources haven't been studied.

13 comments:

great postLOVE that first log cabin, very creative use of the fabrics , looks like lots of borders!Wow that is a log cabin wrapping the cat on the left!I thought for sure the block was earlier than that...one of those quilt designs you think that has been around forever.I love log cabin designs, never tire of making them either.Thanks!Kathie

I love them all! It is amazing to see how one block can make so many variations! I have never made a log cabin quilt and I am so inspired by this post that I see one in very near future!Thank you Barbara for this wonderful post!Mummy pattern... I would have never thought of that either!

Thank you for the information. This was very interesting! I have always loved the log cabin block, mainly because you can set the blocks in so many ways. One of my first quilts was a log cabin, barn raising setting.

Barbara I've had a private theory that the popularity of Log Cabins was related to the development and use of sewing machines. I know they were and are done by hand; but seems with that much seaming it was designed for machine sewing. Great collection. Thank you.

Buffy - Have to agree with you about the sewing machines and Log Cabin quilts! Also, it is a great scrap user. It have made several and enjoyed each one.The group shown here are very special. I have to vote for The 1875 LC lol, but I am a nut on older quilts. Thanks BarbaraJulieinTN

Barbara,Thank you for this information ..... I knew the design predated the name, but didn't know when the name came about.I would love to be able to see more of the cat wrapping .... it uses both Log Cabin and Courthouse Step blocks!Judy B

Barbara-great post and answer to a very common question. Love the cat mummy-would love to know if the pattern survives from mummy days to the 1860s-will be fun to look for it. Thanks--Laura's quilts are wonderful.

The 1876 bound edition of "The Ladies Treasury" English women's magazine has a Log Cabin project, foundation pieced with silk, starting with a white silk square, but is called "Mosaic Patchwork". Curious when the Log Cabin name was clearly in use a decade earlier in the USA!

Some lovely eye candy in those quilts roundups and the Log Cabin cat mummy is fascinating.

MY OTHER BLOGS

Searching For a Topic?

Type a word or two in the box below.

Search This Blog

Loading...

Contact Me

The email address for this blog is MaterialCult@gmail.com

DOG-GONE GOOD BOOKS

I've published a lot of books on quilt history and quilt patterns over the years. Below are some links to buy them, mostly eBooks or Print-on-Demand. But first click on the dog to go to my Etsy store to see if I have any printed copies I can autograph and send you.

VISIT MY ETSY STORE

Click to see books and quilts for sale. The books are all print editions from early print runs.

E-Book version of Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns.

Click on the book cover to buy a downloadable version.

Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns

The bound volume of this index to 4,000 designs with names is Out of Print. Buy an E-Book version above or buy the digital version BlockBase directly below which will print any pattern any size.

BlockBase

This computer program features over 4,300 patterns. Use it for pattern ideas, pattern I.D. and pattern drafting. Program is for PC's. Click on the box.

Making History: Quilts & Fabric From 1890-1970

A guide to making reproduction quilts, choosing reproduction prints and dating fabrics. Click on the cover to buy it from C&T Publishing.

Borderland in Butternut & Blue

Sampler Quilt to Recall the Civil War Along the Kansas/Missouri Border. A BOM with 14" traditional blocks and lots of history. Click for more:

CLUES IN THE CALICO eBook

Out of Print.

America's Printed Fabrics: 1770-1890

How to date antique fabrics and add to your stash of reproduction prints with projects for reproduction quilts. C&T sells new Print-on-Demand editions. Click on the bookcover.

Encyclopedia of Applique

The Encyclopedia of Applique second edition. Click on the bookcover for more information about an eBook or a Print-On-Demand version. Or buy from my stock at my Etsy store above.

Facts and Fabrications

Twenty traditional blocks to "Unravel the History of Quilts and Slavery." Click on the cover to buy an on-demand print edition.

CIVIL WAR SAMPLER: 50 Quilt Blocks

The book based on my Civil War Quilts blog is still in print. Click on the cover to buy a copy from C&T Publishing.

Quilts From the Civil War

Information on the role of quilts in the Civil War. Click on the cover to read more and order a digital version of this out-of-print classic. I have paper copies in my Etsy store above.

Civil War Women

More about quilts and how women used them during the War for fundraising, patriotism and practical bedding. Click on the cover to see more about an e-Book or Print-On-Demand book.

Juniper and Mistletoe

Karla Menaugh and I designed a BOM featuring quirky tree designs we found in antique quilts. Click on the cover to buy one at my Etsy store. We'll sign it.

EMPORIA ROSE

Challenging Applique from the heart of quilt country. Click to see more at C&T Publishing.

THE GARDEN QUILT: Interpreting a Masterpiece

More masterpiece applique from Ilyse Moore and me. Click on the cover to read more.

Visit My Spoonflower Shop

I have a few designs available at Spoonflower.com. You can buy yardage of postcard backs, quilt labels (like the one in the photo) and political prints in my Material Culture shop. Click on the label.

BOOK OF THE SAINTS EBOOK

You can buy my Book of the Saints For Quilters as an EBook for IPads for $3.99. Click on the picture to find ordering information for my 30-page collection of photocollages.

Lately Arrived EBook for IPads

A few years ago I did a Blurb book to accompany my Moda repro collection Lately Arrived From London. You can buy this little book with ideas and information on early quilts for $3.99 for your IPad. Click to see

Borderland in Butternut and Blue

A Block of the Month featuring patterns and stories recalling the Civil War in the west. Click on the cover to see more.

Carrie Hall's Sampler

A Block of the Month, featuring my favorite applique from Carrie Hall's 1935 Romance of the Patchwork Quilt. Click for more info.

Women of Design: Quilts in the Newspaper

Stitch pieced and appliqued baskets in the style of pattern designers from the 1930s as you learn about where quilt patterns come from. OUT OF PRINT.

Prairie Flower: A Year on the Plains

Block of the month: Original applique patterns recalling the landscape of the westward migration.

Flora Botanica Museum Catalog

Exhibit at the Spencer Museum of Art featuring their spectacular collection. Click to read more.

Our Favorite Quiltmakers:Susan McCord

Quilts inspired by Indiana's 19th-century "Quilting Genius". Click on the picture for more at my Etsy shop.